New laws clear way for more powered boats on Canberra's lakes

Lucy Baker said :

There will be noise. There will be hoons. Speedsters won’t face any consequences. The atmospherics around Lake Burley Griffin will be wrecked. Just picture walking along Anzac Parade and hearing a power boat with a cast of The Bachelor wannabe types on board. Or doing the Bridges Walk with powerboat noise everywhere. This is a really bad decision.

I don’t think you read the article. There is a speed limit, electric motors are mostly silent and boats will need to be registered to be used on the lake. Sure someone may break the rules, but why deny others the use of the lake. LBG needs to be used more and not just sit their and look pretty for people who want to look at it only. I’m a kayaker who uses the lake and I don’t think there will be any problems at all, despite the fact I might no longer be the only person on Springbank island.

Lucy Baker said :

There will be noise. There will be hoons. Speedsters won’t face any consequences. The atmospherics around Lake Burley Griffin will be wrecked. Just picture walking along Anzac Parade and hearing a power boat with a cast of The Bachelor wannabe types on board. Or doing the Bridges Walk with powerboat noise everywhere. This is a really bad decision.

Putting aside the fact that this is for electric motors which, as pointed out by others, are virtually silent, how would the noise from the water be any different to the noise of the traffic on the roads/bridges you mention?

Lucy Baker said :

There will be noise. There will be hoons. Speedsters won’t face any consequences. The atmospherics around Lake Burley Griffin will be wrecked. Just picture walking along Anzac Parade and hearing a power boat with a cast of The Bachelor wannabe types on board. Or doing the Bridges Walk with powerboat noise everywhere. This is a really bad decision.

Did you not read that this is restricted to electric motors? They are basically silent. And as for ‘hooning’, even the most expensive electric outboards struggle to get equivalency with a 15hp fuel motor. They are certainly nothing that can reach any speed, or be powerful enough to drive a vessel that carries more than three or four people.

Lucy Baker they are talking about electric motors only which are virtually silent, you would be lucky to hear them from the edge of the lake let alone Anzac Parade or the Bridges. Take a walk around the lake and see if you can hear any noise from the new goboats as they move around the lake.

These changes have been a long time coming and are well overdue. Canberra’s lakes are wonderful recreational assets that for too long have been swaddled in restrictive and protective legislation that allowed only unpowered watercraft and a handful powered organisational, research or maintenance boats with official permits to ply their waters.

I remember the heyday of Lake Burley Griffin in the 1970’s with large numbers of sailing boats in Friday and weekend races along with the friendly helping hand of the water police fleet. Since then usage of the lake has literally “stagnated” with the number of boats on the water in decline. The lake is large enough to easily accommodate a mix of competition rowing, sailing and electric powered boats as long as everyone obeys the basic rules of the water.

Electric boats open up the lake’s waterways and the few islands to people of all ages for fishing, cruising and picnicking, both on-water and around the shoreline. The launching ramps would be revitalised and the water police would be needed all the more once again. I also suspect that propellers stirring the water up a bit might even disturb the growth of the algae that has plagued the lake for years.

Let’s bring back a wide range of recreational boating in Canberra for the kids, grownups, the families as well as the older generation – each boating their own particular style. Australia Day celebrations might even see boats anchored around the lake at a safe distance watching the fireworks and creating a colourful flotilla of Canberra’s newest boat owning fraternity.

There will be noise. There will be hoons. Speedsters won’t face any consequences. The atmospherics around Lake Burley Griffin will be wrecked. Just picture walking along Anzac Parade and hearing a power boat with a cast of The Bachelor wannabe types on board. Or doing the Bridges Walk with powerboat noise everywhere. This is a really bad decision.